I was going to ask if they use Loctite blue or red.
Lumbar Disc Surgery
- Thread starter CXS
- Start date
I was going to ask if they use Loctite blue or red.
1engineer
Moderator
That's a good one lol. Some years ago my daughter needed screws put in her foot following a soccer injury in college. I talked to the doctor (good guy - top doc with this type of injury in the US) after surgery about "knowing" how tight to torque the screws. He has done literally thousands of bone injuries requiring screws and he said every person is a bit different. Bones are slightly different and he said you can "feel" the proper torque as the screw starts to tighten. To me that's amazing.
Good luck with your surgery and let us know how it turns out. Looking forward to your pain med induced posts lol.
I have full confidence in my surgeons (vascular & spine) and my surgery is a walk in the park compared to other stuff he does.
I should probably have my wife keep me from posting on meds! I'm pretty bored these days not being able to do much so I spend way too much time on the computer as evidenced by these posts. :drama:
The 15th - 2 long days from now. :Cry:
CookieRoe
Senior Member
Good luck Chris! As you probably been told a thousand times, "you'll be fine"! Wishing you a speedy recovery!
My dad is an eye surgeon (I know, totally not the same thing as back surgery) and we have (I'm his office manager) patients who get genuinely scared. We always calm them before the surgery and talk to them post op. There is almost always laughter about the nervousness that was felt before.
nevada
Senior Member
that's terrible. not even avoidable like mine was. I was just dumb. haha.
to add to what he said below. my recovery was very fast. stupid fast.
a bit TMI probably, but the day after surgery, I was in the bathroom(at the hospital) with my lady friend for a bit of extra curricular activities...
I didn't mention it before, but I was only in the hospital for 2 days. to me, that was amazing. I left 1-3 days early. partially, because I didn't want to be there, but also partially because I didn't need to be there anymore.
I was told if I could walk by myself to the end of the hall, they would let me leave. I tried once, NO GO! I asked them for some real food, as ice chips, and water wasn't cutting it. I ate a meal, then made the trip down the hall. true to their word, they released me.
my brother broke his leg in an MC accident, and needed screws to keep it together. they ended up backing out. you could see, and feel them pushing against his skin. if I remember right, the doc said it was "normal/to be expected" I think he eventually just had them removed.
97BlackAckCL
Elite Member
Good luck with the surgery, I hope all goes well :thumb3:
MtnT4R
New member
well shoot, wish I would've seen this thread earlier. My dad just went through two years of increasing pain, with all sorts of friends and family urging him to do the surgery, that they had the fusion and wished they had done it years earlier. So now a year later he's saying the same thing!
The only real piece of advice I can contribute is: when the docs tell you not to bend, lift or twist, they REALLY mean don't bend, lift or twist. For the entire recovery period. my dad never damaged anything, but just kept trying to make himself useful and get back to work, but that was enough to keep him in a good amount of pain.
I can imagine your wife gets to deal with a lotttttt of idiots. cant even imagine.
However, I cant ever overstate the importance of having a family member with you during any surgery as an advocate on your behalf. Been through quite a few hospital stays with friends and family over the past several years, and I've watched PAs, nurses, and attendants screw up medications, forget scheduled med times, and generally showcase a lack of professional attention and courtesy. While I do understand health care workers have to deal with grueling shifts, awful hours and HMO schedules, its pretty scary how easily mistakes can be made with possibly deadly ramifications.
When I'm at the hospital I definitely use the googles to research medications, dosages, procedures, doctors, etc. If something doesn't add up or just have a question I ask the attending to explain things a little more. Always beneficial to be engaged in the process instead of sticking your arm out for a needle without knowing exactly what's going on.
The only real piece of advice I can contribute is: when the docs tell you not to bend, lift or twist, they REALLY mean don't bend, lift or twist. For the entire recovery period. my dad never damaged anything, but just kept trying to make himself useful and get back to work, but that was enough to keep him in a good amount of pain.
I can imagine your wife gets to deal with a lotttttt of idiots. cant even imagine.
However, I cant ever overstate the importance of having a family member with you during any surgery as an advocate on your behalf. Been through quite a few hospital stays with friends and family over the past several years, and I've watched PAs, nurses, and attendants screw up medications, forget scheduled med times, and generally showcase a lack of professional attention and courtesy. While I do understand health care workers have to deal with grueling shifts, awful hours and HMO schedules, its pretty scary how easily mistakes can be made with possibly deadly ramifications.
When I'm at the hospital I definitely use the googles to research medications, dosages, procedures, doctors, etc. If something doesn't add up or just have a question I ask the attending to explain things a little more. Always beneficial to be engaged in the process instead of sticking your arm out for a needle without knowing exactly what's going on.
sprocketus
New member
Microdiscectomy and laminectomy on L5/S1 about 15 years ago. Surgery should be the last resort and it was for me, and it sounds like you are there. Like a previous poster, I only spent a night in the hospital and found immediate relief. Recovery was a little slow because I suffered for 4 months with severe sciatica before getting an MRI to properly diagnose the problem. Procedures now are much better, so I think you stand a real good chance of success. All the best in whatever decision you make. Red loctite, by the way...
First, thanks for the support! I had the surgery last Thurday which makes it about 3 1/2 days ago. It was pretty uneventful for the spine surgeon but the vascular surgeon ran into a mesh that was put in many years ago when I had a few hernias repaired. For some reason the mesh was never listed. It made things more difficult but he succeeded with the only cost being additional swelling for me. The spine surgeon said I was 100% bone on bone instead of finding some tissue remaining.
I asked to be taken off pain meds after the initial recovery. It's now 48 hours w/o any pain meds and I anticipate going home after PT today. Not surprising is that the long haul recovery is about 18 months but by 3 months I should be in pretty good shape.
It looks like I'll be wheeling when the snow melts!
Again, thanks to my T4R friends and support!
I asked to be taken off pain meds after the initial recovery. It's now 48 hours w/o any pain meds and I anticipate going home after PT today. Not surprising is that the long haul recovery is about 18 months but by 3 months I should be in pretty good shape.
It looks like I'll be wheeling when the snow melts!
Again, thanks to my T4R friends and support!
nevada
Senior Member
good to hear!
yeah, I had asked to be taken off the pain meds(morphine) early also. but, apparently too early. I took some pills, but they weren't enough to deal with the pain. I had to wait 10 hrs to get a shot. it was agonizing. unbearable pain. that next shot was the last one though, after that the pain was easily managed with pills.
don't overdo it on the recovery. follow their instructions exactly. my biggest issue was not being able to sit in a vehicle for more than 30 minutes at a time. that was rough.
My daughter and youngest grandson came to see me the day after surgery. I looked out the doorway to see than standing there loking confused and told them to come in. They came in and looked around the room and finally asked who I was talking to. Low level hallucinations come with my opioid use. Interesting, mostly fun but those days are in the past for me now.
I've been avoiding this for so many years it doesn't feel much worse than it did prior to surgery, my pain tolerance is high. I've been told by many docs that I shouldn't be able to drive more than 5 minutes. I'm hoping things go smoothly through the winter and that I'll be feeling good by the time snow melts here.
Now I just have to constantly remind myself - no bending, no lifting, no twisting. While that sounds easy I'm finding it surprisingly hard to stick to.
I've been avoiding this for so many years it doesn't feel much worse than it did prior to surgery, my pain tolerance is high. I've been told by many docs that I shouldn't be able to drive more than 5 minutes. I'm hoping things go smoothly through the winter and that I'll be feeling good by the time snow melts here.
Now I just have to constantly remind myself - no bending, no lifting, no twisting. While that sounds easy I'm finding it surprisingly hard to stick to.
My daughter and youngest grandson came to see me the day after surgery. I looked out the doorway to see than standing there loking confused and told them to come in. They came in and looked around the room and finally asked who I was talking to. My reply was "my invisible friend stopped by" - Low level hallucinations come with my opioid use. Interesting, mostly fun but those days are in the past for me now.
I've been avoiding this for so many years it doesn't feel much worse than it did prior to surgery, my pain tolerance is high. I've been told by many docs that I shouldn't be able to drive more than 5 minutes. I'm hoping things go smoothly through the winter and that I'll be feeling good by the time snow melts here.
Now I just have to constantly remind myself - no bending, no lifting, no twisting. While that sounds easy I'm finding it surprisingly hard to stick to.
I've been avoiding this for so many years it doesn't feel much worse than it did prior to surgery, my pain tolerance is high. I've been told by many docs that I shouldn't be able to drive more than 5 minutes. I'm hoping things go smoothly through the winter and that I'll be feeling good by the time snow melts here.
Now I just have to constantly remind myself - no bending, no lifting, no twisting. While that sounds easy I'm finding it surprisingly hard to stick to.
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1engineer
Moderator
Glad everything seems to be going OK man. Follow orders!
I am in an air cast on my right foot at the moment. I brok one of those little bones. Problem is I can't stop doing stuff that I need to do in order for it to heal. A few months ago when it happened the doc didn't even put me in anything, just told me to rest it and stay off it. A month later I went back and he put it in a brace. A few weeks ago he got fed up and put me in this monstrosity and told me if I don't watch the next one will be a fiberglass cast. I'm trying lol.
97BlackAckCL
Elite Member
Glad to hear everything went well, good luck on a speedy recovery and improved health in the future :cheers:
